


Over and Over

by Ballycastle_Bat



Series: Olivarry [18]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Didn't know they were married with kids, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gay William Clayton (Arrow TV 2012), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Jewish Barry Allen, M/M, Minor Eddie Thawne/Iris West, Minor Ronnie Raymond/Caitlin Snow, Mutual Pining, Past Medical Abuse, Past Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Past Rape/Non-con, Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Smart William Clayton (Arrow TV 2012), William being confused about Barry, William is basically Robert Jr from the comics so, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 04:02:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30083184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ballycastle_Bat/pseuds/Ballycastle_Bat
Summary: On another earth, William was born under terrible, terrible circumstances. When Oliver finally learned of his existance, he was no longer a baby. Barry swooped in without a second thought and helped raise the child that no one expected.Barry and William's bond was strong, and it wasn't long before he began to notice the confusing bond between Barry and his father. Things only get messy and more confusing when Barry drifts from their little family.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Oliver Queen
Series: Olivarry [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1554625
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Over and Over

**Author's Note:**

> So this has been sitting in my drafts for a long time and I haven't posted much since November and that's a problem for me. Red Canary vol 2. IS coming I promise. I also have plans for all my open multi-chapters. I'm just stuck in weird ways.I don't write chronologically which bites my posting schedule in the ass haha.
> 
> I was kind of shy about posting this because it's so William focoused and goes into William's trauma. I also found it difficult to write. If you're interested in other William trauma fics I have one titled "That's Not What I Asked" in this collection as well.
> 
> Ps. I put past rape/non-con in the tags, but there's no on screen rape or super heavy discussion of the rape. But if anyone requests it I will tick the rape/non-con box, I have no issues doing so! (: I just tend to overkill with ratings as is.
> 
> Hope you enjoy <3
> 
> Big thanks to Dan and RoseyAshes (:

William sat awkwardly at the breakfast table, he was silent again. Which wasn’t totally unusual. What also wasn’t unusual was Barry Allen; Barry was pretty much family, he came over all the time. Which was confusing because he lived in Central City. He was comfortable with Barry, as he was already around when he came to live with Oliver a few years previously. There was a time when he was younger, where it didn’t even occur to him that Barry didn’t actually live with them.  
  
He eyed Barry curiously, there was something that was starting to confuse him. Barry seemed to feel like something else to their family. Something that he didn’t know how to define. He wasn’t his father’s husband, or boyfriend. Though sometimes it didn’t feel like they were friends. They way they spoke to each other was pretty close to how his father and his uncle Tommy talked … but the way they looked at each other was like Mr. and Mrs. Diggle.  
  
It wasn’t something William thought about when he was younger, but when he started _noticing_ boys it was something he noticed. Barry’s voice pulled William from what he had really been thinking about: where his dad was. “What are you thinking about, slugger?”  
  
William hadn’t decided if he liked being called that, but Barry said it was what his dad called him when he was a kid. Which was also confusing.“Where’s my dad?”

Barry placed a big breakfast in front of William. “He’s at the bunker.”  
  
“Did he get hurt again?” William pressed, though he already knew the answer. He could see it in Barry’s expression; he was positive but too much. He was arguing with himself because no matter how much he trusted Oliver to hold his own, he worried when he was hurt.  
  
Barry’s response was to smile again. “Eat, and then I’ll answer all your questions, okay?” This time it wasn’t anything too serious, it was just hard. Sometimes Barry’s speed healing made him hyper aware that his loved ones didn’t do that.  
  
So he went through the motions acting like he wasn’t worried about Oliver’s not so minor injuries. He was there for William when everyone else was otherwise indisposed. Thea and Roy were on their honeymoon, Felicity was caring for Oliver, and of course Dig was hurt too. Lyra had enough on her plate with the twins, so Barry was more than happy to rush over.  
  
He ran a hand into his hair as he watched William until he started to eat. “I have a question for you though, nine is a big number. Thought about what you want for your birthday?” he grinned widely at him.  
  
William paused and looked up at him. “Are you going to come over?”  
  
“Of course!” Barry beamed broadly at this, happy for the change of subject. “You’re almost a decade old.”  
  
William ate breakfast willingly after that, as it seemed Barry would actually talk to him when he finished. The few minutes were far from awkward, Barry was always around. He couldn’t think of a time where Barry’s wasn’t.

It would only be three days before the next time Barry saw William. Thea and Roy were just getting in from their Honeymoon so Barry was picking William up from school. One of his teachers had accidently referred to Barry as his father. Which wouldn’t be as odd on the surface if Barry didn’t feel like his dad. His relationship with Barry was different than it was with John, and no one else picked him up from school as often as Barry did. He was pretty much the second contact at his school.

"You said I could tell you anything, right?" William asked when Barry settled into the drivers seat. 

Barry stopped and looked back at William in the booster seat. "Yeah. Is something wrong?" He hoped William was just worried about his father, though he never knew what to expect.

He poked a buckle on his booster seat. Not sure I'd he should ask a question at all, some days it felt like a secret. "Do you like my dad?"

Barry was thrown. _What?_ He paused, stalled out like an old car. "What was that?" He stammered, voice breaking worse than when he was growing his first beard twenty years ago. “Why are you asking me that?”

William slowly began to shut down. He felt like that wasn’t something he was supposed to ask. “I’m sorry.”  
  
Barry frowned. “You didn’t do anything wrong … your dad and I have been friends a really long time.” was all he offered as an answer. What had William seen? What would drive William to ask something like that?

* * *

William sat on the edge of Oliver’s bed in the Bunker. He held his hand, almost afraid something bad would happen if he let go.  
  
“How was school buddy?” Oliver asked with a smile.  
  
William just gave a shrug of his shoulders. “Mrs. Miller thought Barry was my dad.” he just said that, and then added. “It was weird.” based on Barry’s reaction he knew this was strange in some way.

He watched Oliver as he spoke. To his surprise Oliver laughed. “He is kinda like a dad I guess. Easy mistake to make.”  
  
William paused. “I was confused.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Barry isn’t my uncle like Tommy, so what is he?”  
  
Oliver shrugged. “he’s Barry. I’m really tied, buddy. How about you go with Thea for a bit? You really don’t need to see me like this. I’ll be fine in a few days.”  
  
William nodded once and headed home with his aunt. When they got to the small apartment she shared with her husband, Roy everything seemed to be going smoothly. Thea was relieved that Roy was having a better time getting along with William recently.  
  
Roy didn’t really know how to act around Will. He didn’t really have experience with kids that young. So it often lead to some funny encounters. It wasn’t until Will had info dumped all the things he’d learned about computers with Feliss that he got more comfortable.  
  
Now they could talk about _something_ Roy was used to computer talk from Felicity. So it wasn’t as awkward, but that was still the majority of what they talked about. He let William talk about that and video games.  
  
However the night didn’t go over well. William kept waking up, and having trouble. Thea wasn’t sure what William needed, it had never been a problem when he was over with them.  
  
She pulled out her phone and paused. Oliver was still recovering and likely sleeping so she texted Barry. Who had to be awake at this hour.  
  
**Thea:** _Hey, Barry are you up?_  
**Barry:** _Yeah, what’s going on?_  
**Thea:** _William is having trouble sleeping. Any idea what I can do for him?_  
**Barry:** _I’ll be there in ten._  
  
Thea had gone to make coffee, knowing she was in for a long night but by the time she returned to read his text there was a knock on the door. She heaved a sigh. _Speedsters_.  
  
She went to the door to let him him. “You really didn’t have to come out here.”  
  
“No it’s fine,” he headed towards the spare bedroom. William had fallen asleep again but was restless.  
  
Thea hovered behind him. “I know you’re not supposed to … wake him when he’s like that, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I don’t want to just … leave him? You know?”  
  
Barry nodded. “You’re right, waking him up isn’t the best idea.” He sat down on the side of the bed, one hand softly stroking William’s hair back. William had two types of nightmares; the kinds that woke the whole house and the small ones. He hummed a soft tune as he played with William’s hair and slowly he calmed, returning to a more sound sleep. Barry then pulled out his phone and put on a soft rumbling sound. It was faint but distinct, unlike anything Thea had ever heard before but she was oddly brought back to a moment when she was walking to the club and a large gust of wind overtook her.  
  
“What’s that?”  
  
Barry returned to the door. “That’s what the speedforce sounds like, there aren’t a lot of things that sound like it, but we managed to layer some sounds to mimic it.”  
  
“The speedforce is going to help him?” She wasn’t sure what to make of that, not really.

He shrugged in response. “We figured that out when he was a kid.” he explained a bit vaguely. “It’s not a big deal. Do you want me to hang out in case he wakes up?”  
  
“I think I can handle it from here."  
  
Barry just nodded. "If this doesn't help, just stay up with him until he falls asleep again."  
  
Thea nodded. She knew logically that she couldn't just _fix_ it, she lived it. It was just different seeing it in William. He was so small and innocent. It pained her to see her nephew happily pratling on about computers and science one minute and the next being plagued by sleepless nights and that fear. The one where you of course knew the source, but the logical part of your brain knew wasn't a threat anymore. He'd been improving in recent years but it was still difficult for her to watch.

* * *

Barry didn’t go straight home though. He went to visit Oliver. He was still asleep and still far from healing. He sat down carefully beside the bed. Oliver didn’t open his eyes. “I’m not dead, Barr, you can go home.”  
  
Barry laughed a little. “I was in town. I just thought I’d see if you needed anything, but you were asleep.”  
  
“What brought you out here?” The bunker was completely empty apart for the two of them, Oliver’s voice had a bit of a teasing tone to it.  
  
“William was having some trouble sleeping.”  
  
Oliver nodded. “You didn’t have to come out here for that, Thea could have handled it.”  
  
Barry shrugged. “I was around.”  
  
“What time is it?”  
  
Barry went to grab his phone before he remembered he left it at the apartment. “Uh, it was about one when I left.”  
  
Oliver nodded. “I think I’m going to sleep more.”  
  
“Yeah.” Barry was quiet for a moment. “Hey, Ollie?”  
  
“Hmm?” Oliver hummed in response.  
  
With some hesitation Barry asked. “Do you remember when William first came to live with you?”  
  
Oliver wondered why Barry was thinking about that. Barry was always running forward. It was interesting for him to lament on the past with him like this. “Yeah. He always wanted to sleep on you.”  
  
Barry could clearly remember holding William, who was much smaller then, against his chest while he and Oliver had long, soft talks careful not to wake him. William had always slept soundly with one ear against Barry’s chest, the rumbling of the speedforce lulling him to sleep. “Yeah, I remember.”  
  
Oliver could feel Barry hesitating, but didn’t comment on it. Barry would say what he wanted to, he always did.  
  
“There was a time where he thought I lived with you guys.” Barry laughed. “Because I was always there when you put him to bed and when he got up.”  
  
“You always show up right when I need you.” he mumbled, his eyes still closed.  
  
Barry hesitated again before saying. “I kind of miss that. Those first couple years.” When Oliver didn’t reply right away he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. “That’s not weird is it? I just … you know.”  
  
Oliver reached up and patted Barry’s cheek, only now opening his eyes and looking up at him. “You’ll be a dad one day.” His hand lingered for a second and Barry was worried that Oliver could feel the words anyway. He often knew what Barry was going to say.  
  
For once Barry didn’t tell Oliver what he wanted to. He bit back the words that threatened to spill out. He opened his mouth for a moment, thinking he had the courage but he didn’t. So, he swallowed them back hard and placed a hand on Oliver’s. _I miss when we felt like a family._


End file.
